Would you be put off buying a house with Ivy all over the front and sides of it?

cusssi

Looked at a house earlier and it has Ivy all over the front sides and back of it.

What problems could this present to the structure of the house? If any.

Ive heard its difficult to remove and can leave a bit of mess after what with the suckers left on the brickwork? The neighbour has removed it off his garages and its left a mess, but obviously its still alive... Ive heard to kill it from the routes and then leave for a few months then remove...

And finally, Would this Ivy put you off buying a house and if so why?

Thanks for any info and advice?

Better_Days

Ivy can leave a bit of a mess on the brickwork when it is pulled off, although this probably falls off with time.

My main concern would be whether or not the ivy had got into the guttering and the soffits and facia's and done any damage, such as beginning to pull them off or got into the roof space.

Strapped

^Exactly - how high has the ivy gone? If it's made the roof then there are more likely to be serious issues, or if the brickwork is not sound to start with. However, it wouldn't put me off buying, subject to a careful survey (and possibly a bit more negotiation on price subject to the findings )

G_M

Ivy can add considerably to the attractiveness of the property. And gives birds a great nesting site (don't forget to put out bird food too). So long as it is not doing damage, buy it!

It is very unlikely to affect brickwork. If the pointing (the cement between the bricks) is already in poor condition, the ivy can worsen this, resulting eventually in a need to re-point (scrape out the cement and replace), but that's only in severe cases.

As said also, if it gets to the roof it can get under/in the guttering and loosen/block it, but guttering is prety cheap to replace/repair.

Biggest issue might be if it goes higher and gets under roof tiles and loosens them. But for that you really have to have a lot of ivy!

So
a) see what your surveyor says, but certainly no need to avoid a property just because it has ivy!
b) as part of general house maintenance, cut it back every few years so it does not reach roof height
c) if you insist on killing it (it provides a great environmental habitat for wildlife!) cut it a ground level and wait.

Slinky

I was put off buying a house I may well have bought because it was covered in ivy, but it was up the side and over the roof. It's still refered to in the odd conversation as the 'triffid' house.

My neighbour regrets having allowed ivy to grow over their house. They cut it back and pulled it off several years ago, but you can still see loads of the suckers and marks on the brickwork.

Another reason I wouldn't buy, aside from possible damage, is I'm sure it must encourage spiders.....

Wesker

Slinky wrote: »

Another reason I wouldn't buy, aside from possible damage, is I'm sure it must encourage spiders.....

This would be my biggest fear too :eek:

shegar

Wesker wrote: »

This would be my biggest fear too :eek:

No I wouldnt be put off, good post from poster GM.....I love ivy for the wildlife it encourages, bees,butterflies,birds all need it for shelter,nesting,and food, although as previously mentioned I wouldnt let it go into the gutters fascias etc, so it just needs controlling.....

CDC2011

I wouldn't be put off but I would be doing a more in-depth survey for peace of mind.

One wall of our garage was covered ground to roof in the stuff. I decided to remove it as it wasn't attractive in our garden and the only things living in were indeed spiders.

The brick work was marked and the ivy had caused some damage to the cement / got into gaps in the bricks where the previous owners had drilled holes to put up plant holders on the wall. But overall the garage was still structurally okay and the ivy hadn't managed to do anything to the roof.

It's been six years and there are still dead suckers on the brick work - some of which are so stuck on that I'd need a knife of some sort to get the off if I could be bothered.

claire16c

Slinky wrote: »

Another reason I wouldn't buy, aside from possible damage, is I'm sure it must encourage spiders.....

Me too. Especially now Ive just read the below which confirms my fears!:eek:

CDC2011 wrote: »

One wall of our garage was covered ground to roof in the stuff. I decided to remove it as it wasn't attractive in our garden and the only things living in were indeed spiders.

G_M

Spiders eat flies, mosquitos etc

and in turn provide food for birds.

Leave well alone! (the ivy I mean)

knightstyle

Is it ivy or a creeper? Ivy can damage the wall in time but some creepers do not. We bought a house with an outbuilding completely hidden with virginia creeper which I hacked back and found it had done no damage to the brickwork.